The birds needed a new home. They had been living in an attic because they had wings that were too small that could only carry them short distances.

The man grew tired of hearing birds walking back and forth across his ceiling. One day he came into the attic swinging an axe and holding a lantern near his throat.
 
The birds moved to the roof where half of them froze to death.

The other half decided to build an attic on top of the attic. They gathered bark and pine needles from nearby trees.

Six months later they had built an attic on top of the old attic.
 
The townsfolk came and stared at the attic on top of the attic. The man charged everyone two coins to look at his home and have an emotion of their choosing.
 
No one could see inside the attic. They didn't know that the birds' wings were getting longer and they were learning to fly in long durations. The elder birds were timing the newborn birds who were practicing flying in circles around the ceiling. Soon the birds would begin knitting the trees and the faces of villagers with attics.

Shane Jones' chapbook, I Will Unfold You With My Hairy Hands, came out this summer from Greying Ghost Press. His first novel, Light Boxes, will be published in early 2009 by PG.

To link to this story directly: http://wigleaf.com/200810attics.htm

Photo detail on main page courtesy of snakemanrob.

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